The 2020 Biennial Review Committee composed of faculty, staff, and students met virtually in May and June 2020 to conduct the federally required alcohol and other drug (AOD) policy biennial review. A subcommittee also met to discuss consistency of policy and sanction enforcement as well as how to best document AOD data collection.
The committee determined that the University of Michigan is in compliance with federal requirements for the University of Michigan Alcohol and Other Drug Policy for Students, Faculty, and Staff. The policy document is distributed electronically to every student, faculty, and staff member on an annual basis and is included in the Annual Security Report & Annual Fire Safety Report. It is also linked in the mandatory online course required for all incoming first year and undergraduate transfer students, various U-M websites, and referenced in parent and student orientation materials.
Aside from minor grammar revisions, location changes, and unit details, the committee endorsed the following policy changes:
- Section 4 Health Risks: included proper storage language under prescription drug misuse
- Section 4 Health Risks: edited tobacco language
- Section 7 University Sanctions: clarified OSCR section
- Section 8 External Sanctions: edited marijuana language
- Section 10 Alcohol Marketing Standards: edited language and reestablished link
The committee reviewed the AOD Typology Matrix to determine program effectiveness and identify strengths and areas of improvement. Members cited community partnerships, evidence-based approaches, proactive harm-reduction strategies, cross-unit collaboration, collective impact. and multi-stakeholder communication efforts among the strengths surrounding this work. Incorporating more youth voices, connecting with faculty, and identifying additional locations to post the AOD policy were among the areas of improvement.
In addition to the policy changes mentioned above, recommendations for continued improvement include:
- Identify new locations to incorporate the AOD policy and find ways to make it relevant to the specific audience
- Include in new faculty onboarding discussions
- Work with RSG to link on RSG website
- Use Maize Pages to engage student orgs more intentionally around social gatherings that may include AOD and how, if at all, organization funds are spent on AOD
- Consider additional AOD Policy marketing and publicity strategies; undergrad admissions, Communicator’s Forum, press release, etc.
- Clarify the meaning of each category in the U-M AOD Typology Matrix (ex: Community refers to the general Ann Arbor community, and not the direct campus community)
- Work with the Student Health Advisory Council (SHAC) and other student orgs for recommendations on how to best communicate/utilize the AOD policy